National Assembly of Laos

The National Assembly (ສະພາແຫ່ງຊາດ) is the highest power organisation of Laos. It is the only branch of government in Laos, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs are subservient to it. The National Assembly meets in Vientiane.

Laos is a one-party state, with the Lao People's Revolutionary Party as the sole legal party in the country. Most of the National Assembly's actions simply rubber stamp the party's decisions. Efforts have been made to increase the capacity of its members, aiming to strengthen their legislative, oversight, and representational capacities.

History
The National Assembly was established in its current form by the Lao Constitution of 1991, replacing the Supreme People's Assembly (the latter also formerly known as the Supreme People's Council). After the December 1997 elections, the number of seats were increased to 99, a new structure was announced and Samane Vignaket was elected as its president.

The last elections were held on 21 February 2021. The Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP) took 158 seats in the enlarged 164-member National Assembly while the six remaining seats went to independents.

In 2017, construction started on a new National Assembly building, gifted by Vietnam. The construction was completed in 2021.

Committees
Parliamentary committees of the National Assembly currently include:
 * Law Committee
 * Economic, Technology and Environment Committee
 * Planning, Finance and Audit Committee
 * Cultural and Social Committee
 * Ethnic Affairs Committee
 * National Defence and Security Committee
 * Foreign Affairs Committee